Groningen: the university city of the northern Netherlands

The Martinitoren, a bell tower nearly one hundred metres high, dominates the city's skyline and offers a panoramic view over the surrounding region.

A few steps away, the Groninger Museum, with its striking postmodern architecture in vivid colours, exhibits contemporary art in a building that is itself a work of art.

Walking along the canals you move through the historic centre, where bicycles outnumber the city's inhabitants themselves.

As evening approaches, the university district comes alive with bars and venues frequented by the city's substantial student population.

Groningen boasts the highest percentage of university students relative to total population in the Netherlands, a factor that deeply shapes the city's cultural and nightlife scene year-round, especially around the central market square.

The Groninger Museum, designed by a collective of international architects in the 1990s, divided local public opinion at its opening due to its boldly colorful appearance, which has since become an iconic symbol photographed by every visitor.